Delaware ranks #20 of 51 for cost of living in 2026.
Cost of Living Index by State
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Updated 2026-04-25. Click any state for the full breakdown.
Delaware cost of living is 99.808 as of 2024, according to BEA Regional Price Parities. That puts Delaware at rank #20 of 50 US states, above the national average of 97.184.
Among Delaware's neighbors, Maryland shows 104.959, Pennsylvania shows 97.572, New Jersey shows 108.805. Use the CalcFi compare view to line all of them up: /maps/compare?cat=cost-of-living&states=de,md,pa,nj. Nearby states share labor markets and housing corridors, so the comparison is usually the most relevant one.
Top Delaware metros include Wilmington, Dover, and Newark. City-level cost of living data drops in Q3 2026 once BLS releases its metro-area tables for the year. Dover is the state capital. Until then, the state-level number is the best available read.
Delaware scores 99.808 on the BEA Regional Price Parities index, where the US average is 100. A score above 100 means goods and services cost more than the national average; below 100 means less. RPP covers goods, rents, and other services at the state level.
1 cities ranked by cost of living index by state. Lower is better.
BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), all items, US national reference = 100. Pulled live from BEA API (TableName=SARPP, LineCode=1, year=2024).